Peru survival kit 🧭

Land like a chaski

📅 Already installed at home? Perfect. Install now, it won't start counting until you're in Peru.

🛬 Already in Peru without it? No stress: buy it on chaskisim.com, then install it on the free airport Wi-Fi at Jorge Chávez, your hotel's Wi-Fi or a café's. You're online in minutes, and your plan starts when it connects in Peru.

🛬 When you land

  1. Still on the plane or at the gate: open Settings → Cellular / Mobile network and switch the Chaski eSIM line on.
  2. Set the eSIM as your cellular data line and turn Data Roaming ON for it (it's a travel eSIM, so this is normal and free).
  3. Keep your home SIM switched on for SMS codes from your bank, but turn data roaming OFF on the home line so your carrier can't charge you.
  4. WhatsApp, iMessage and FaceTime keep your usual number. No signal after 5 minutes? Toggle airplane mode once.

🌊 Lima

  • At Lima airport (the new Jorge Chávez terminal), book a taxi at the official counters in the arrivals hall: Taxi Green, Taxi Directo or Taxi 365 (executive cars: CMV and Mitsoo). Finding your Uber driver at the airport can be very hard, so skip it there, and ignore offers from people in the arrivals hall.
  • Miraflores & Barranco are the easy, walkable bases. Sunset on the Malecón is free.
  • Ceviche is a lunch dish — cevicherías often close by late afternoon.
  • Don't drink the tap water. Currency is the sol (PEN); small notes help.

🏔️ Cusco

  • You're at ~3,400 m. Take day one slow: water, coca tea, light dinner, no pisco marathon.
  • Tip: sleep in the Sacred Valley (~2,800 m) first and acclimatize downhill.
  • The boleto turístico covers many ruins and museums around Cusco.
  • Nights are cold year-round — pack a warm layer (or buy alpaca!).

🦙 Machu Picchu

  • Book entry tickets early on the official Ministry of Culture site; tickets are timed and by circuit, and sell out in high season.
  • Bring your passport — it's checked at the gate.
  • Trains run from Ollantaytambo or Cusco (Poroy) to Aguas Calientes (PeruRail, Inca Rail).
  • Signal at the citadel is patchy: screenshot tickets & QR codes beforehand.

🗺️ Offline maps = superpowers

Before you leave Wi-Fi, download offline areas in Google Maps (Lima, Cusco, Sacred Valley) and grab Organic Maps or Maps.me for trails. Your eSIM is unlimited, but the Andes don't always have towers.

🆘 Good to know

  • Emergency: 105 police, 116 fire/rescue. iPerú runs free tourist assistance offices.
  • Keep a photo of your passport and entry stamp on your phone.
🏡
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